I sense Corey’s eyes on me from across the room and look his way. The heat in his gaze has me stumbling against Ally; she laughs, placing her hand against my shoulder to hold me steady. Christian and Drew lounge on a couch deep in the alcove, but Aaron and Corey are standing at the edge, eyes on us.
Well, not on us. Corey’s gaze is locked only on me, and I force myself to look away before I abandon my friends and run across the dance floor into his arms.
The heat from nearby dancers, the pounding of the bass through my body, the lights flashing—the dance floor is liberating. He approaches behind me and wraps one hand around my hips, the other cupping lightly against my throat.
“Do you feel that?” he asks, pressing his hard length against my ass. I nod and throw my head back against his shoulder, staring up into his hooded gaze. “You’ve had this effect on me all night, Bex.” Giving him a devilish grin, I grind my ass against him and he moans. “No more dancing with your friends,” he growls. “For the rest of tonight, you are mine.”
Chapter 9
Corey
Watching Bex dance with her friends triggers something within me, and it’s not just sexual attraction. No, something about watching her dance, laugh, enjoy herself with her friends… It made me feel happy in a genuine fucking way that I haven’t felt in a long time.
“Is her friend single?” Aaron jerks me out of my thoughts, and I turn to look at him.
I shrug. “Not sure. Which one?”
Christian steps up behind us and claps Aaron hard on the back. “The redhead,” he says, laughing. “He’s been staring at her sincewe got here.”
Aaron glares at him. “I haven’t been staring,” he starts, but I give him a knowing look. He certainly has been staring since the girls have been on the floor. “I’m just surveying the space,” he says, stuffing his hands in the pockets of his suit and nodding toward the dancefloor. “This place has been nonstop since it opened last month, and I’m just getting a flavor of the competition.”
Now I laugh. “There’s no competition, man,” I say, giving him a nudge. “Your casino is doing fucking amazing.”
He nods at me, though his shoulders fall. “For now,” he mumbles. “Speaking of, I should get back.”
Walking up, Drew says, “Thanks for taking one for the team, man!” That’s how it always is with these two—Aaron is all business and serious, while Drew is the social playboy. As long as they’ve found a balance for themselves, I don’t tend to question it.
I look back toward the girls and watch as Bex dances, the confidence she exudes as she sways and twists her curvy body. My muscles itch, urging me to move to her, and I can’t just sit on the sidelines as an observer any longer. I know something is bugging Aaron, but now is not the time to dig into that. I’ll text him tomorrow before I head out and figure out what his deal is.
“Sounds good, man,” I say, reaching to give him a one-armed side hug. “Sorry, Chris, but I’m stealing my woman away for the night.”
Christian groans. “You fuckers always ruin a good time,” he complains. I know he’s annoyed as well—my visits to Vegas have been fewer and farther between as I’ve taken up more executive and production duties at my company. So, it’s been a while since we’ve had a true guys’ night.
“I’ll be back in a few months for the awards show,” I say as I give him the same side hug I gave to Aaron. “We’ll hang out then.”
He grumbles, but my attention is already back on Bex, and I’m halfway down the steps to the dancefloor. Bex and her roommates are transcendent on the dance floor, moving around each other with a sensual grace, smiling and laughing with every move. And because they are attractive women having fun, they’re attracting attention from other dancers, and not necessarily the kind I’d approve of.
As I make my way through the crowd, I can spot at least two men nearby leering at them, practically salivating as they blatantly stare at the girls. It takes everything in me to not go caveman and start pushing people out of the way; my instinct is to make my way to Bex immediately, hoist her up in my arms, and carry her off this loud, steamy dance floor.
Surprising myself with control, I stalk up behind Bex. Pressing myself against her, one hand on her hip and the other snaking up her body to lightly grip her throat. “Do you feel that?” I ask, pressing my lips against her ear. She shivers beneath my touch and tilts her head up to look at me. We could be the only two people on this dancefloor right now, our attention is so wrapped up in each other.
“You’ve had this effect on me all night, Bex.” She grins, and I know she can feel my hard length against the curve of her ass. She grinds her ass back on me and I growl in response. “No more dancing with your friends,” I say, darkly. “For the rest of tonight, you are mine.”
She bites her lip and nods, her hips slowing as she looks back to her friends. Bex embraces them quickly and gives them both kisses on their cheeks. As she turns to take my hand, Ally gives me a look, pointing two fingers at her eyes, then back at me. The universal“I’m watching you, fucker”hand gesture. I raise two fingers to my temple and give her a salute in acknowledgment.
They don’t have to worry about Bex with me, not tonight. Not ever. I intend to worship at their friend’s feet tonight.
Taking Bex by the hand, I wind us through the crowded dance floor.
“Where are we going?” she asks, and I give her a wink.
“Follow me,” is all I say, scanning the front of the house for a familiar face.
Sebastian Anderson is an acquaintance, one made via Aaron. Since they’re both club and casino owners, they tend to run in the same circles. I’ve played poker with Seb a few times, so perhaps it’s delusion that makes me confident he’ll oblige me a small favor.
He finds me first, shouting out, “Frank, you son of a bitch!”
“Seb! Long time, man.”
